Oregon: A Weekend in Portland
This year for Memorial Day weekend, we decided to drive down to Portland for the first time. We had a great time. Here are a few of the places we visited along the way!
One of our first stops was Powell's Books.
Powell's is the biggest book store I have ever been too, a couple stories tall and taking up almost a whole city block! A book lover's paradise for sure! Books of almost every category. We ended up going twice, looking through all the books. And they even have a little coffee shop inside for drinking some coffee, while reading some of your new books.
Next on our to do list was doughnuts. A lot of our friends told us to check out Voodoo Doughnut, which we did, from the outside. The line was way too long for us, so we decided to look elsewhere for doughnuts. And find a place, we did! Blue Star Donuts!
From what I saw, Voodoo Doughnuts was mostly regular doughnuts with a bunch of random toppings (like cereal and candies). Blue Star had a wide variety of different, unique flavors that I'd never seen anywhere else, like Blueberry Basil and Blackberry Peanut Butter. The Hard Apple Cider Fritter was probably my personal favorite. If you're into really random & unique flavors, I'd definitely recommend a visit.
To end day one, we stopped by the Portland Japanese Garden.
We enjoyed a very peaceful walk through the garden, checking out the different plants and sculptures.
There was even a bonsai exhibit that weekend that we were able to check out. The garden was super pretty! I would love to go back and see it when everything is in bloom.
Day two we decided to check out some of the museums in the area. First up was the Oregon Historical Society Museum. I always enjoy the little history of the places we visit. The museum had some nice pieces in it, but it was a little small, so you won't end up spending too much time there.
Across the street was another favorite type of stop for us, an art museum. The Portland Art Museum had a nice variety of artwork. A little something for everyone.
We also tend to find ourselves in a lot of churches and temples when we go traveling. And Portland was no different. Day three we started at The Grotto, or The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother. The site is a Catholic Shrine and botanical garden.
We found the it to be really peaceful walking around the garden. It was super quiet and we were far from a lot of city noise. Even if you aren't religious, it has a lot to offer. Not only is it peaceful, but the garden has many nice sculptures as well.
To end our trip, we swung by Portland's Chinatown and stopped at the Lan Su Chinese Garden.
Lan Su Garden is a small garden, but beautiful none the less. The Chinese buildings may even make you forget you're still in Portland. A great way to end our weekend!
